Vol. 9 No. 7, July, 2013

Each year at about this time, I tend to make comments about chasers in the summertime. The temperature outside, up here in Maine, is pushing over 90, which just seems miserable -- until I think about what it would be like to be below decks on a 110' wooden boat in this weather.

This month, a new photo to come across my desk, takes me in another direction: It's a shot of a chaser about to be fitted out as a Coast Guard cutter, and chase liquor smugglers during prohibition.

Let me just pour myself a glass of bourbon, and look through some records to see if I can figure out which chaser it was ...

--Todd Woofenden, editor

Chasers at Malta

Dry dock, Malta

Added to the set photos taken at Malta are two shots of chasers, submitted by Richard Gibbons, whose grandfather served in the RNAS, working on aircraft manufacture.

One shows eleven chasers (at least) in dry dock at the same time, in several rows of three, and a couple at the near end. The chasers were brought into dry dock frequently, to seal seams, sheath the hull, and perform repairs. This photo was probably taken just after the war, as the chasers were readying for the return trip overseas.

Fine Print

To receive the Subchaser Archives Notes via email, use the signup form here. The Notes are posted monthly. If you have non-commercial messages (on topic) for the next Subchaser Archives Notes, submit them to the Subchaser Archives Editor.